RG wrote:
On another thread, I asked about a 2 stroke vs. a 4 stroke for flats
fishing. Lots of "up on plane, get going .. stop .. do it again" etc. I run
in 18 inches of water or less most of the time.

One respondent brings up the theory that "four strokes can and do produce
better "thrust"". Is that theory correct?

In my original posting, I clearly needed/want hole shot..not better gas
mileage..more quiet..less pollution, or top end speed. Right now, in the
couple of groups in which I posted the original question...the vote is 27 to
3 votes in favor of 2 stokes over 4 strokes??????. If his theory is
correct...the 27 to 3 seems wrong for my particular needs. any comments are
much appreciated.. thanks



Not really the thrust is a function of the propeller & what type of
engine turns it. Propellers with lost of pitch to provide a high top
speed on a fast boat, need lots of low down torque to get them away
quickly from a standing start. What you really want is an engine with
the best low down torque & traditionally 4 strokes have been good at
this, however this is not the case with the new 4 stroke OBs.

It's true 4 strokes can produce good torque however in your hole shot
premises a 2 stroke can be just as good & sometimes better (more bangs
for a given number of prop turns). So the 2 strokes can produce good low
down torque which means they can bog less from a standing start, this is
usually put down to their weight advantage but.

The new 4 strokes are usually very high revving engines (sometimes
higher than the equivalent HP 2 stroke) which means they produce their
best torque quite high up the rev band, again contrary to the usual
comments.

For getting away quickly the 2 strokes are OK indeed that's probably
their only strong point, but for fuel economy, long service life, ease
of use, resale value etc the 4 stroke is the go.

You've been warned about the Evinrudes, stay well away for the next 5
yrs at least, indeed I'll predict they won't even exist in 5 yrs just as
I did Ficht & it only took 3 yrs for them to go:-).


K